ORNL Hosts AI Expo Featuring OpenAI and Anthropic Models
The Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) recently held an AI Expo, bringing together over 200 artificial intelligence experts and domain scientists. The event focused on the latest AI technologies that are advancing scientific research worldwide.
Hosted by ORNL’s AI Initiative, the expo included keynote speeches, poster presentations, and a mini hackathon. This hands-on session allowed attendees to engage directly with emerging AI models, such as OpenAI's o1 and Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet, giving researchers practical experience with these tools. ORNL first organized this event in 2019, and it continues to grow in scope and impact.
Bridging Research and AI Expertise
Prasanna Balaprakash, ORNL’s Director of Artificial Intelligence Programs, emphasized the value of participation from staff across diverse research fields. The event highlighted the lab’s commitment to applying AI methods to enhance science, engineering, and national security efforts.
Keynote speakers included ORNL leaders like Balaprakash, Deputy for Science and Technology Susan Hubbard, and AI Programs Director Edmon Begoli. External experts such as NVIDIA senior research scientist Jean Kossaifi and Amarda Shehu from George Mason University also shared insights.
Begoli, who directs the Center for AI Security Research (CAISER), noted the high level of expertise and dedication among ORNL researchers. This dedication has deep roots, with ORNL’s AI work dating back to 1979 through the Oak Ridge Applied Artificial Intelligence Project.
Advancing AI’s Role in Scientific Discovery
Opening the event, Hubbard outlined how AI is moving beyond predictive and generative phases into reasoning-based capabilities. This shift opens new opportunities for AI to drive scientific innovation. ORNL supports this transition with initiatives such as:
- The ORNL AI Initiative
- Exploration of the “scientific laboratory of the future” concept
- An AI academy that offers tutorials and raises awareness on AI developments
- An AI governance committee dedicated to ethical AI use
- Deployment of an AI Assistant powered by ChatGPT, available to lab staff
Collaborative Innovation and Future Directions
The AI Expo followed closely after a "1,000 scientist jam session," an unprecedented collaboration among nine national labs to test generative AI for scientific research. The event drew attention from Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright, OpenAI president Greg Brockman, and members of Congress.
Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, ORNL continues to support fundamental research across physical sciences. The Office of Science is a primary funder for many scientific challenges in the U.S. For more details, visit energy.gov/science.
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